The former category focuses on behavior modification, usually disregarding typical and natural behavior of dogs. 1. However, the main supporter of the technique was William R. So, this technique can be explained by operant conditioning principles.

Negative reinforcement is the process that strengthens a behavior because an unpleasant situation is stopped or avoided as a consequence of that particular behavior. They also claim that training collars (choke, prong and shock) are harmless because dogs have a high threshold of pain.

These people also claim that positive trained behaviors are not reliable under variable circumstances.

Although very common, those claims are not true. 3. Mixed techniques use both positive and negative reinforcement. While choke collars are common tools, it seems that mixed techniques are friendlier to dogs than traditional training.

Several champions of canine sports have been trained under a mixed approach using positive as well as negative reinforcement. Perhaps the main reason for the use of mixed techniques in those sports is that some behaviors, such as leaving an attack sleeve, are very difficult to train without negative reinforcement.

Although trainers who use mixed approaches also use positive reinforcement, they usually avoid using food as a reinforcer. Some of these people also tend to use non-violent procedures. Detractors claim that there is a lack of solid arguments in these techniques. However in the mainstream community, this might not be a viable solution, unless you want really angry neighbors, who are annoyed by your constant whistling. Dog training whistles have evolved from our need to train the dogs, to listen to our commands. Invented by Francis Galton in the 1880s, the dog training whistles, also referred to as Galton’s whistles, are a great tool to get your dog’s attention. While some have peas and others do not, there are others which combine two whistles into one, to have dual frequencies for producing different dog whistle sounds. Based on the length of the cylinders, the pitch of the whistle varies.

However there are no magical powers that will pull your dog to the sound or make it respond to the whistle commands. So for the ‘sit’ whistle command, give the verbal command followed by the whistle sound that the dog learns to associate the command with it. I really don’t know how many of you have faced this situation, but when you are sick and lying in bed, sad and depressed the sound of pattering paws and the touch of a wet nose and the feel of the soft fur of man’s best friend, surely lifts up our spirit and makes us forget our illness for the time being. You are right, I am talking about the therapy dogs who are trained to bring joy to all those who are sad and depressed, who are sick, and who need company when human company push them away. Dogs have a healing power in them which can make us forget all our worries, no matter how grave they are and even if they cannot solve the problem, they can at least make us forget about it for some time. Show them who is the master. Some dogs can take advantage of their master’s soft behavior and try and behave in a stubborn manner and that will make training it difficult.

The post Dog Training Books first appeared on Puppy Blog.

Dog owners have many methods of training their dogs to choose from today. A number of these methods use only positive reinforcement; others utilize positive and negative reinforcement while others use incentives like treats. The difference in dog training techniques mainly lies in the specific procedures and commands that the dog is being trained. The most appropriate training technique for a dog depends on the dog owner’s or the trainer’s preference and the desired end result.

No matter the training method, these tips will substantially assist you understand and choose the best training technique for your dog.

Dog training Tip 1

Start the training when the dog is still as young as possible. However, it is not practical to train a dog younger than 49 days.

Dog training Tip 2

At the beginning, the training sessions should not last over 15 minutes. At advanced stages, dog training may go on for up to several hours but a beginner dog has a short attention and interest span. Even after the dog is accustomed to the training, obedience training should not last over twenty minutes. If you suspect that the dog is losing interest, end the session.

Dog training Tip 3

End all dog training sessions on a positive note. It will not go well if you end the session with a bad note, like after you just disciplined the dog. If necessary, create a positive situation just before you end the training session.

Dog training Tip 4

Schedule the dog training sessions at a certain time of the day. After awhile, the dog will learn the timing and will even show excitement when it is almost time for the next training.

Dog training Tip 5

Use light weight leashes or leads that are about six feet long for all training sessions. Using heavy leather leashes are heavy and very distractive.

Dog training Tip 6

Consistency in the command you use to train the dog is very important. The dog gets accustomed with certain words that it takes as keywords. For instance, if you train the dog to understand “sit” to sit and “Dowd” to lie down, it would be very confusing to it to tell it to “Sit Down”. Try as much as you can to avoid using negatives. The best example is telling the dog “Don’t Sit”. It will just grasp the word “Sit” and do what it understands by it. Other phrases that should not be used are phrases like “Please sit”, “come and sit”, “Sit boy” etc.

Dog training Tip 7

Play the dog’s favorite game for at least 5 minutes after the training to make the dog excited about the training. This will boost a positive experience and make it look forward to training sessions.

Dog training Tip 8

Use the same volume and tone in instructing the dog. You can make a special “command tone” so that the dog can have an easy time understanding the commands each time. However, after the training, practicing with different tones, volume or even by different people will assist reinforce the commands.

The post Dog Training Tips That Will Save You Grief And Time first appeared on Puppy Blog.